Albert Ganzenmüller
Encyclopedia
Albert Ganzenmüller was a German National Socialist and, as the Under-secretary of State at the Reich Transport Ministry, was involved in the deportation
of German Jews.
in November 1923 while still at Realgymnasium (secondary high school). He thus became a holder of the Blood Order
of the German National Socialist Party
. After graduating from the Technical High School in Munich (now Technical University Munich), where he was a member of a student fraternity known as the Corps Rheno-Palatia München, he became an executive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn
(German State Railways) in 1931 and joined the National Socialist Party
and the Sturmabteilung
(SA or “brownshirts”). In 1940 he had reached the rank of colonel on the staff of the SA supreme command.
In 1934 Ganzenmüller became a senior railway executive (Reichsbahn-Rat) in Munich and in 1938 was appointed Senior Government Adviser (Oberregierungsrat). He was subsequently head (Dezernent) of electrical engineering at the central office of the German State Railways in Munich. In 1940 he took over the repair and renewal of the electric railway network in occupied France. The following year, at his own request, he was transferred to the Eastern Division at Poltava
in central Ukraine
. Here he quickly dealt with traffic hold-ups and, on the recommendation of Albert Speer
, was appointed Deputy General Director of the German State Railways and Under-secretary of State at the Reich Transport Ministry.
, the Personal Adjutant to Heinrich Himmler
, complained to the newly appointed under-secretary about irregular transport and track repairs on the line to the extermination camp at Sobibor
. Ganzenmüller replied in writing on 28 July 1942 as follows:
Karl Wolff thanked him on 13 August 1942 in a personal letter:
At the beginning of 1943 Himmler approached Ganzenmüller directly in order to ensure the pending “removal of Jews” to the Auschwitz concentration camp
.
process was delayed, and in 1952 an amnesty led to the ending of the case against him. He returned to Germany in 1955 and was employed as a planning engineer for transport matters by Hoesch AG
. The public prosecutor’s office continued to investigate him after 1957, as the exchange of correspondence with Wolff and Himmler had been discovered and published by the historian, Gerald Reitlinger
. Ganzenmüller remained on remand for ten weeks but the investigations led only to a preferred charge
. In 1973 a case was brought by the regional court at Düsseldorf. The charge was that by organising transport the 68-year-old Ganzenmüller had aided and abetted the murder of millions of Jewish men, women and children whose wrongful detention had resulted in death. The case was provisionally halted in 1973 because of his inability to follow the case and then terminated altogether in 1977.
This is a translation of the article on the German Wikipedia at :de:Albert Ganzenmüller
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of German Jews.
Career
The holder of a doctorate in engineering, Albert Ganzenmüller had taken part in the Munich Beer Hall PutschBeer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
in November 1923 while still at Realgymnasium (secondary high school). He thus became a holder of the Blood Order
Blood Order
The Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...
of the German National Socialist Party
National Socialist Party
Parties in various contexts have referred to themselves as National Socialist parties. Because there is no clear definition of national socialism, the term has been used to mean very different things...
. After graduating from the Technical High School in Munich (now Technical University Munich), where he was a member of a student fraternity known as the Corps Rheno-Palatia München, he became an executive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
(German State Railways) in 1931 and joined the National Socialist Party
National Socialist Party
Parties in various contexts have referred to themselves as National Socialist parties. Because there is no clear definition of national socialism, the term has been used to mean very different things...
and the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
(SA or “brownshirts”). In 1940 he had reached the rank of colonel on the staff of the SA supreme command.
In 1934 Ganzenmüller became a senior railway executive (Reichsbahn-Rat) in Munich and in 1938 was appointed Senior Government Adviser (Oberregierungsrat). He was subsequently head (Dezernent) of electrical engineering at the central office of the German State Railways in Munich. In 1940 he took over the repair and renewal of the electric railway network in occupied France. The following year, at his own request, he was transferred to the Eastern Division at Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
in central Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Here he quickly dealt with traffic hold-ups and, on the recommendation of Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
, was appointed Deputy General Director of the German State Railways and Under-secretary of State at the Reich Transport Ministry.
Involvement in deportation
Ganzenmüller was immediately involved in the organisation of trains for deportation. He collaborated in the transportation scheme for elderly German Jews to Theresienstadt and ensured the smooth running of transport to the extermination camps set up under Operation Reinhardt. On 16 July 1942, Karl WolffKarl Wolff
Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel , ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943...
, the Personal Adjutant to Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, complained to the newly appointed under-secretary about irregular transport and track repairs on the line to the extermination camp at Sobibor
Sobibór
Sobibór is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Włodawa, within Włodawa County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies close to the Bug River, which forms the border with Belarus and Ukraine. Sobibór is approximately south-east of Włodawa and east of the regional capital...
. Ganzenmüller replied in writing on 28 July 1942 as follows:
- “A train carrying 5,000 Jews has run daily since 22 July from Warsaw to Treblinka via Malkinia; furthermore, another train has run twice a week with 5,000 Jews from Przemysl to Belzec. The senior management of the eastern division of the railways, ‘Gedob’ (Generaldirektion der Ostbahnen), is in constant touch with the security service (SicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
) in Krakau. The latter is in agreement that transport from Warsaw to Sobibor via Lublin should continue while the reconstruction work on this stretch renders such movements impossible ([until] approximately October 1942).”
Karl Wolff thanked him on 13 August 1942 in a personal letter:
- “… I note with particular pleasure from your communication that a train with 5,000 members of the chosen race has been running daily for 14 days and that we are accordingly in a position to continue with this population movement at an accelerated pace. […]”
At the beginning of 1943 Himmler approached Ganzenmüller directly in order to ensure the pending “removal of Jews” to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
Postwar
Ganzenmüller escaped to Argentina via Italy from the interrogation camp in 1945. His denazificationDenazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
process was delayed, and in 1952 an amnesty led to the ending of the case against him. He returned to Germany in 1955 and was employed as a planning engineer for transport matters by Hoesch AG
Hoesch AG
The Hoesch AG was an important steel and mining company with locations in the Ruhr area and Siegen.Hoesch was taken over by Krupp in 1991.-Nazi involvement:...
. The public prosecutor’s office continued to investigate him after 1957, as the exchange of correspondence with Wolff and Himmler had been discovered and published by the historian, Gerald Reitlinger
Gerald Reitlinger
Gerald Roberts Reitlinger was a scholar of the economics of art and of history, particularly the Holocaust...
. Ganzenmüller remained on remand for ten weeks but the investigations led only to a preferred charge
Preferred charge
A preferred charge is an interim step in the United States' military justice system.According to Jonathon Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the US military justice system equivalent of a formal charge is only leveled...
. In 1973 a case was brought by the regional court at Düsseldorf. The charge was that by organising transport the 68-year-old Ganzenmüller had aided and abetted the murder of millions of Jewish men, women and children whose wrongful detention had resulted in death. The case was provisionally halted in 1973 because of his inability to follow the case and then terminated altogether in 1977.
Related Wikipedia links
- Julius DorpmüllerJulius DorpmüllerJulius Heinrich Dorpmueller was general manager of Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft from 1926-45 and the German Reich Transport Minister from 1937-45.- Life :...
, Reich Transport Minister in 1945 - Sonderzüge in den TodSonderzüge in den TodSonderzüge in den Tod is the title of a touring exhibition commemorating the deportation of hundreds and thousands of people by the former Reichsbahn to the concentration- and extermination camps. It was shown in France in 2006 and, in a different form, in Germany in 2008...
, a touring exhibition, 2008
External links
- KZ-Züge auf der Heidebahn, Kapitel 14
- Rechtspolitische Initiative zum Fall Albert Ganzenmüller / Bernd Michael Uhl
This is a translation of the article on the German Wikipedia at :de:Albert Ganzenmüller